STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Have you Ever Heard the phrase "counting cards?" The phrase is used mostly in a casino when a blackjack player is using data and the law of probability to determine the value of the next card on the top of the deck. If the card on top is not in the players favor they will not "hit" in fear of breaking or going over 21. Sounds like a good advantage to have if you ask me.

If the card is in favor of the blackjack player they will use this advantage to bias thier win over the dealer. You're probably wondering why you haven't started learning how to count cards and taking this new found skill to the casino to win some money. That's a really good thought, so I'll give you two reasons.

The first reason you probably don't want to count cards is because of the cognitive overload that would be present. Think about this, there are 4+ decks of cards, and there are many players that influence the outcome of counting cards. The second reason is the casino doesn't like to lose, so they'll give you a first class ticket out the door with a life ban. The casinos love to keep the analytics and probability in their favor.

There's a lot to unpack in this analogy. Sports are very much so just like a casino. We see Numbers everywhere, and thats what keeps sport analysis alive. We've all heard of the underdog, or the betting favorite. This is a prime example of using probalility and information to make informed decisions. These decisions can be the difference between winning and losing.

As a coach we want to give our athletes the best possible advantage as we can in order to increase their chances of winning. This is where we shine as coaches. We understand that there's strength in numbers. These numbers can be thought of as the combination to the vault of success.

In order to crack the vault of success, we have to have a hypothesis or and educated guess. Coaches can find out so much about their athlete, the sport, KPI's (key point indicators) , League Stats, Injuries, Work to rest times, Player super stars, and performance markers. After we gather all our information about the sport, we can start testing and assessing to create an athletes needs analysis profile.

When we create a needs analysis profile, we're just determining the most important influential factors (KPI), and allocating training time to build them up. Training these Key point indicators creates a stressor that demands for an adaptation. We want this stimulus in to get an adaptation out. That means the athlete is changing, and any change to the athlete is measurable and valuable.

Results are king. Athletes and clients come to us with and expectation that we can be the driving force to help them reach their goals. If we can show our clients that we are moving in the direction closer to their goals, we now provide value to them. The value we provide helps establish excellent rapport, and buy in to the system.

The more portfolios and profiles we have, the bigger the influence and success the system has. We now have a history of pre-established success and kpi's for a sport. We now have experience in making logical sequenced decisions for our athletes. All this means is we have the ability to compare and contrast results and make adjustments that cater to an athletes success.

Success and KPI's are highly dependent of each other. KPI's are strategic implements we use to predict and influence our clients success. There are some considerations that should be made, when determining what KPI to use. KPI's can be objective, Subjective, and performance components. KPI's must be relevant and repeatable to maintain the efficacy of their performance.

Performance considerations would be things like strength and power on the whole spectrum. We can use endurance parameters, movement quality, jumping, throwing, sprinting, speed, agility , and quickness. These are test you can use to quantify results week to week.

Looking through another lens could be objective KPI's. I measure things like resting heart rate, max heart rate, Heart rate recovery, Threshold, Body composition, Breathing, and posture. Objective Measures are great just because we have a standard that has built in retesting. The body composition measurements will be taking on the same spots, and we only need their body to do so. If we're testing their max heart rate, we can simplfy this by using a cyclical movement to crank the heart rate up. we would need their heart rate monitor and a piece of cardio equipment.

The last piece of the puzzle is subjective. Sometimes all the test in the world don't mean anything if the athlete doesn't feel like their readiness is heightend. Coaches can learn valuable insight asking their athlete how they percieved a movement or exercise. I usually have them rate their rate of precieved exertion on a scale of 1-10. 1 being easy and 10 be hard. Iv'e actually helped more clients with this piece of the puzzle than the other two. The mind is everything. If we as coaches can build confidence in our clients abilities, they will express them more freely and without limits.

The best thing we can do as coaches is ensure everything is done with a purpose and is systematized. We are providing tools that make actual differences when it comes to their sports. They trust us to clear a path and navigate them through their journey. We grow together through this process and they become family. We owe it to our family to show them results. We do this through clear cut testing, and show them the numbers. The numbers don't lie.

There's strength in numbers. That's why Structured Strength Systems was created. We're a system thats ever growing, and we value the success of each and everyone of you. Keep getting in those reps AMRAP as many reps as possible.

-Coach Austin -